EU air passenger rights deal leaves compensation rules largely unchanged

EU lawmakers and member states have reached a long-awaited compromise on air passenger rights after 13 years of talks. The deal keeps compensation amounts and delay thresholds mostly intact, adds one hand-luggage entitlement, and scales back enforcement changes that could have made claims easier for travelers. Why it matters: - The EU deal preserves the core protections millions of air passengers rely on after delays and cancellations. - The compromise does not update compensation for inflation, so the real value of payouts has eroded over time. - The agreement also leaves most passengers still responsible for starting claims themselves, which can make enforcement harder in practice. What happened: - EU member states and the European Parliament reached an agreement on reforming European air passenger rights after 13 years of negotiations. - The compromise keeps compensation between €250 and €600 and retains the current three-hour delay threshold. - The deal also adds a new rule on hand luggage and changes how passengers access compensation claims. The details: - Under the current EU261 rules, passengers can receive compensation when a flight is cancelled at short notice or arrives more than three hours late, unless the disruption was beyond the airline’s control. - Current compensation amounts are €250 for short flights, €400 for medium flights and €600 for long-haul flights. - The new agreement leaves those payment levels unchanged. - The agreement also leaves the three-hour delay threshold unchanged. - Earlier proposals would have required airlines to provide a pre-filled claim form and automatic compensation payouts. - The final deal instead requires airlines to give passengers information and instructions on how to file a claim themselves. - Passengers will still need to initiate most claims on their own. - Industry data indicates many airlines still do not pay compensation automatically, and some passengers end up taking legal action to receive payment. - The agreement adds a base-ticket entitlement for one bag that fits under the seat plus a second piece of hand luggage. - Airlines can no longer charge separately for cabin baggage under the new rule. - Passengers who travel with less luggage will receive a discount once the rules take effect. Between the lines: - The final package looks more like a preservation of the status quo than a broad consumer-rights overhaul. - The biggest wins for passengers are narrower fees on hand luggage and the retention of existing compensation rights. - The biggest misses are the lack of inflation adjustment and the weak enforcement changes. - Tom van Bokhoven of Flight-Delayed.com argued the framework still reflects rules written in 2004 and that weak enforcement leaves compensation dependent on whether passengers are able to push claims themselves. What’s next: - The agreement still needs to be implemented before passengers see any practical changes. - Airlines will have to adapt pricing and ticketing to include the new hand-luggage rule. - Passenger advocates will likely keep pressing for automatic payouts and stronger enforcement in future reform rounds. The bottom line: - After more than a decade of talks, the EU has delivered stability for air passenger rights, but not the deeper reform many travelers wanted.